How to Make a Clunky Exposé about a Dirty Old Oil Tycoon

I don’t know if many people noticed, but in case you missed it, one of the world’s most revolting tyrants just made a public appearance on the Daily Show. It’s completely understandable that most people didn’t realize it at the time, but I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again by helping you familiarize yourself with him now.

In a nutshell, I happened to notice something recently that most probably did not. And I think it’s so important for you to be informed with that knowledge, that I actually feel a responsibility to report on it. Hopefully I can make you aware of this, because there could actually be future consequences if information like this is not shared.

The tyrant in question is a man named T. Boone Pickens, and if you don’t start paying attention to him, he might be playing a much larger role in your future…and unless you’re a family member, a friend, a business partner, or a shareholder; it’s probably not going to be a future you’re going to want to live in.

I’m guessing he made an appearance on the Daily Show because he knows he has developed a bit of an image problem lately. But rather than address those problems with honest, persuasive answers; he completely dodges them. And judging by a few of his responses, I actually suspect he thought Jon Stewart wouldn’t ask about them. That lack of preparedness shows me that this man is so arrogant, and thinks that everyone around him is so stupid, that if he just gets up there and talks long enough, you’ll eventually believe him. And to be fair, it’s been a winning formula for decades. However, it’s time for all of us to stop being fooled by people like this.

(note: apparently I’m unable to post Comedy Central Videos on my site, so I’m going to need you to please open another window in order to follow along, but I promise it will be worth the effort!)

(Note 2: for this clip only, I suggest starting from the very beginning of the interview to get a proper background, but after that, I consider anything I don’t highlight as completely optional viewing).

2:00- 2:30 Jon calls him out on his BS

2:30- 2:40 I have the clip they are talking about here: the most relevant part is at (1:40-5:00)

2:55-4:05 yes, this guy really thinks you’re all stupid enough to believe what he’s telling you! But like I said, it’s been a winning formula for decades. The problem now is that it’s getting a lot harder for people like him to keep selling us on an old script we are all too familiar with. Unfortunately for Pickens, the whole charming tycoon with the endless future promises shtick just doesn’t have the same impact it used to. He made a good effort, but I’ve already seen this movie before, and I’m well aware of how it ends. So does Jon, and so should all of you.

3:45 looks like a lie followed by a quick dodge of the question to me.

4:30-6:10 Jon puts him on the spot, and I’m willing to bet the response you heard is a very carefully worded lie. Thankfully, Stewart calls him out on it again. Rather than address it like I mentioned though, Pickens completely dodges the issue because he doesn’t want you to know about what Jon is alluding to.

6:14 one more quickie; I have to admire how Pickens says “I’ll stay an hour…” Like I said, he thinks that you’re so stupid, that if given enough time, he will eventually convince you to buy the BS that he’s trying to sell you.

Don’t you find it odd that T. Boone does a big national interview and didn’t even mention the documentary Gasland? Of course not, he’s so arrogant, wealthy, and powerful that he thinks he can do whatever he wants. As long as he dodges the issues, distracts you with false promises, and keeps talking long enough, you’ll be stupid enough to go along with it.

So now let’s check out a couple of highlights from the Daily Show interview with the creator of Gasland, Josh Fox here

2:15-3:00 Speak of the devil. A certain tycoon’s name gets mentioned, followed by another little secret you’re not supposed to know about.

4:00-7:00 debunking the debunkers? What’s really going on with the energy industry? And what are we going to do about it?

So who seems more believable? Josh Fox? Or old T. Boone?

If you haven’t seen enough proof yet, I have a few more optional highlights. Remember when Pickens says “I’ll stay an hour?” Well here is the extended interview clip, with a few more highlights I can point out, but like I said, completely optional viewing:

7:35 let’s hear the energy plan…except he doesn’t really explain anything! Apparently the idea hinges on a strong political leader emerging, but there isn’t anyone available at this time. Oh really? And then he also wants the whole trucking industry so he can change their fuel source from diesel to natural gas. As if this guy really needs more money and power…

15:35-16:25 Stewart sounds like he’s heard enough of the BS story.

18:10-19:00 Jon digs in and puts him on the spot one more time about the fracking and is again met with a completely ridiculous answer, but at least we all got to see this creep squirm one last time. After this last laughable dodge, I don’t think anyone should have reason to believe anything this guy says about his business dealings ever again.

20:20-22:15 some very good final points by Jon between tired old ramblings from a tired old dinosaur.

All in all, this was a terrific interview by Jon Stewart. He knows this guy is completely full of s___, but still gave him a golden opportunity to make a good showing for an important audience. Big thanks to Stewart for his unwavering skepticism and for putting this tyrant on the spot on more than one occasion. I know it wasn’t easy to let him off the hook, but I can empathize in his situation, as it was the professional thing to do.

Now if those clips still aren’t enough proof to convince you that T. Boone is a revolting tyrant, I’ve got some really big news for you… there’s still one other secret Pickens doesn’t want you to know about, and it wasn’t even mentioned on the Daily Show either.

This is why I told you in the beginning that I felt a responsibility to inform everyone about this, because if I hadn’t also recently seen the following clip, I never would have been able to put both pieces of the puzzle together to form the far sinister bigger picture.

You see oil and natural gas aren’t the only two resources T. Boone has his greedy fingers in. Did you know that he also bought massive amounts of land over the largest aquifer in the United States? Are you ready to know why this is this significant?

Not only has Pickens been implicated in contaminating the nation’s water supply, he’s also buying up the available fresh water in hopes of selling it back to us!

Don’t believe me? Check this out:

12:18-14:00 notice the first part of the clip where Pickens is mentioned as the “worst” amongst corporations and other tycoons trying to monopolize the world’s fresh water supply

13:35-13:55 see the tyrant speak for himself. Doesn’t that sound like something Lex Luthor would say and do? Only this isn’t a movie, and there is no superman.

1:10-3:05: final scene dealing with T. Boone’s role in the water conspiracy.

1:30-2:15 would you define that as good business? Or selling your soul?

This isn’t a conspiracy theory people! This is the world and the reality that you live in! And I’ve just shown you proof!

You want a conspiracy theory? I’ll give you one:

How about T. Boone Pickens actually wants to poison the water supply on purpose! Through a process of “influencing” enough of the “right people,” he gets the U.S. off foreign oil by promising less expensive (and domestic) natural gas. Then, Pickens finds a way around the pesky environmental laws and helps cover up or downplay all the environmental hazards caused from fracking by “influencing” the media through lucrative partnerships and advertising deals.

Then, after he poisons enough of our water and takes over enough of the natural gas, he will create artificial scarcity to jack up the prices and literally play God with us by controlling the resources we need to survive. Need heat or water much? But don’t worry, I’m sure he will still make public interviews…they will just be entirely rehearsed so he will always look good. He will also get to dust off and keep re-using the old scripts along with a seemingly endless myriad of future promises that always seem to go unfulfilled. But by the time you finally figure out that he’s actually the guy responsible for the problems, it’ll be too late! You’ll be so dependent on him for survival that you’ll go along with whatever he says out of fear…

Now that’s a conspiracy theory! None of those last two paragraphs are factual, but like any good theory, it’s believable enough to at least deserve some critical thinking.

Needless to say, I don’t think many people want to live in that possible future. However, in order for us to prevent that future from occurring, the people are going to have to be informed about what’s really going on. Therefore, this is a call for public knowledge, because that nightmare future scenario isn’t as far fetched as you might think, and is easily avoidable if enough of the public is aware of it.

So now let me ask you a hypothetical question; if that conspiracy theory turned out to be mostly true someday, and that IS the future that awaits us, would you want me to warn you about it?

Now do you understand my responsibility to inform you about this man? Do you really think I spent a week writing a voluntary exposé on a powerful billionaire as a joke?

Whatever the truth may be, I honestly don’t blame T. Boone Pickens so much as I blame the broken system for allowing people like him to thrive. The fact that any individual can accumulate that much wealth and influence should be alarming. What kind of future do we want to live in?

In order to change the system however, we are going to have to start becoming more informed. And people like T. Boone flourish because they count on us to be gullible and uninformed. Stop being fooled!

Peace and Love…

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One thought on “How to Make a Clunky Exposé about a Dirty Old Oil Tycoon”

Conspiracy theories……
Some are products of paranoia. Some hit the mark. Does the oil/gas/coal industry have undue influence, or do they control our governments (state & federal)? No doubt the industry “lobbies” (-Bribe) politicians of both political parties.
That is troubling, in that our lawmakers in this country are putting the corporate interest ahead of the national interest by allowing the fossil fuel industry to maintain their monopoly on the type of energy we use.
So, at some point, after the damage has been done to our economy, environment, and our society as a whole, will We(-the People) hold these industry leaders accountable?